Be Smart Parents: In-Season Preparations

Here we are—almost in May. College coaches are busy with their own seasons. So what can high school players be doing now to get the attention of coaches during the recruiting season?

First and foremost, keep those grades up. When the coaches start recruiting again this summer, they are going to want to know what kind of student your child is so it is critical that there is not a decline in academic performance during the lacrosse season.

Second, play a lot and play well. During the spring season, it is important to work hard to get the most playing time possible. This may mean doing extra workouts, as an individual, to move up a string. It means having candid conversations with coaches on areas of needed improvement and making changes to improve. A good coach will give good, honest feedback; a good coach can explain the player’s weakness, how it affects the player’s game, and what needs to be done to correct it. If your child is playing on a high school and a travel team, talk to coaches for both teams and be aware of the similarities and differences in their observations.

Third, keep your child’s statistics. Log goals, assists, ground balls, face off wins, and saves. This can be powerful information that helps your child’s lacrosse resume stand out over other players. In our area, some high school teams automatically feed this information to the local paper, but others do not. As a result, it is up to us as parents to be smart and maintain this information for our kids.

Fourth, film the games and keep your child’s recruiting video current. By working on the film now and adding good footage to it, coaches who watch your child in the summer will have timely information about his/her performance.

Fifth, start making a list of the schools your child is interested in. When your travel club confirms its summer plans, your child should reach out to these coaches with an up to date lacrosse resume, link to current film, and information on where they will be this summer.

Lastly, stay healthy. Stretching, eating well, and getting ample rest will help minimize the tolls that the long lacrosse seasons takes. Create some downtime for your player; block some time just to catch up on school work or rest. These kids think they are invincible; it is up to us, as parents, to be smart and make sure they do not overdo it.

What else is your family doing to prepare for the summer recruiting season? We still have a couple of months to go until tournament season. Please share your thoughts with us at BeSmartLax@gmail.com.